Sweet Dreams
by The Lanternkeeper
Summary: This life can NOT get any worse. I'm the son of Morpheus, I'm in a totally new situation, and I'll probably have to go on some sort of journey soon... SUPER! *sarcasm* Changed to T, cuz of the violence and slight implied language...
1. I Unexpectedly Leave Everything Behind

**Hey, everyone!! I have been formulating this story for a really REEEAAAALLLLYYY long time, so I hope you like it!! And now, with the disclaimer stuff, it's... Percy!!**

**Percy: Uh, okay... LoD owns nothing, except for his own characters. Everything else in here belongs to Rick Riordan.**

**Me: Hey!! That's not true!! I own soooo much more than just my characters!! I own a pair of fuzzy slippers(^^), a computer, an iPod Nano, a...**

**Percy: (gets fed up with my ranting, and washes me off screen with a huge tidal wave) Enough already!!**

**Me: Ow... T_T Here's the story...**

* * *

"James! Wake up!! I'm not going to call you again!" my mom shouted.

"Ugh... Yeah, right..." I mumbled, rolling out of bed. I got dressed, and went downstairs to have breakfast...again. Everything was the same in life, day after day, same old, same old.

If only I knew. I wish I'd known that today, my life would change. Drastically.

*knock, knock* "I'll get it," I called, getting up to answer the door.

"Hi, James!" In bounded my best friend, Soleau. His mom was kind of weird, so her son had a weird name, too. We had gone through pretty much our whole lives together. Well, except for each summer, when he had to go to a camp that I was always told nothing about. Whenever I asked what it was like, he always said, "Eh, kinda boring," and that was that. His mom didn't like to talk about his dad; she said it brought back painful memories. He must have done something bad to her. I was always sure to be careful about that subject with her around. Soleau himself didn't remember anything about him.

"Hey, man," I greeted him, just barely stifling a yawn. "God, how do you have so much energy in the mornings?"

"Gods," he corrected me. "There's more than just one, you know."

"Yeah, okay," I replied, rolling my eyes. "You're avoiding the question again."

"So?"

I groaned. He was always like this. How did he have so much energy, anyway? 'Maybe it's just me?' I wondered. 'Nah.'

"Anyways, come on! We're going to be late for school!!"

"Yeah, whoo-hoo. Another day of seventh-grade, dragging by again. Another day of boring crap in Kansas. Go life," I said sarcastically.

"Why are you always so emo?" Soleau asked.

"Who says I'm emo?"

"I do, now get your butt in gear, or I'm leaving without you!!" He wouldn't.

_Later that morning, at school..._

"Hey, punk, hand it over."

"*sigh* What do you want now, Fred?"

"Your lunch money, mouthy brat!"

I should have known better, but I was sick of this guy. He was a good head taller than me, maybe two, and ripped. Like, scary ripped. Not too bright, though, which was nice. Those two usually don't go together in people. "Why don't you go play in a space station? Maybe they can put you someplace where no one will have to see your face again. Like the Sun."

"You're gonna get it now, rat!" he shouted, aiming a punch.

"Frederick! James! What, may I ask, is going on here?" The teacher.

"What's always going on here in the morning before school?" I asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow. Foolishly, too, I'll add.

"Detention! Two weeks! Both of you," he added, narrowing his eyes. He walked away after that.

Fred didn't take it very well. He slammed me into the wall in order to relieve some of his anger. "Good going, loser! Now, I'll miss something important! I'm seriously ticked off now!"

"Oh, no. Whatever shall I do? The bull is mad!" I remarked derisively.

"We will finish this. After school, in the back parking lot." He throttled me once more, then stomped off, taking some nerd's calculator and breaking it.

I ran over to the boy whose calculator had been mutilated, and pulled mine out. "Take mine," I told him, then took off for my locker.

The rest of the day was, well... boring. As usual. Finally, the end of the day found me in the back parking lot, with Fred. No one else was there.

"So, the sleepy little mouse decided to show itself, did it?"

I yawned. "Let's get this over with, Fred."

"You're gonna be sorry you ever even came to this school."

"Dude, I feel sorry I came here every time I have to see your face."

He exploded. Both literally, and figuratively. He lost his temper, and went kaboom. But, not completely. In his place was some sort of a human-bull hybrid. I recognized it immediately from my English class, as we'd been studying Greek myths lately. "A minotaur," I gasped.

"Freeze, creature!" Soleau burst out of the second story window behind Fred, along with four others. There was a boy with black hair, and sea green eyes. I could see them from where I stood. There was another boy, also with black hair, and brown eyes, and a slightly 'dead' aura. It intrigued me a little bit. There was a girl, with dark blonde hair, grey eyes, and a baseball cap. There was writing on it, but I couldn't read it, due to reasons I would find out later. Lastly, there was another boy, who had brown hair. He was almost normal, except for the fact that the entire lower half of his body was... goat. A satyr? Yeah, that's the one.

Anyways, Soleau and his friends I had never heard about proceeded to take on the minotaur before me. The blonde girl tried to use her knife to stun it, but got knocked into a tree by a blow to the midsection. I knew that those hurt, from personal experience. The tree cracked a little bit, and I ran over to drag her out of the way.

"Ungh... Let go of me!" she cried when I tried to move her.

"You're welcome," I replied quietly. The ungrateful girl ran back into the fray.

Meanwhile, the dead kid ran up the minotaur's back and kicked its face into the ground.

"James, right?" the satyr asked me.

"Um... Sure?" I said uncertainly, as the scene unfolding before me kind of shocked me.

"We'll need your help here pretty soon, so get ready to jump on its back!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Take off your backpack, it'll only slow you down!" Soleau called from the minotaur's leg. He was latched onto it, hoping to drag it down.

I took it off, and laid it down beside a tree. "Okay, now what?" I called to the boy with the green eyes. He looked like the leader, so I thought it would be best to ask him.

"Go! Now!" he yelled.

I jumped on the minotaur's back, and held on for dear life. "What do I do now?!"

"Grab its horns! That'll let us see what- oof!" The dead kid tried to reply, but got knocked into the blonde girl by the minotaur's kick, which also dislodged Soleau. All three lay in a heap next to the tree with my backpack.

I climbed up the beast's back, and seized its horns. The beast started to sway, and I felt my tiredness drain out of me. "Hah!" I cried, jumping off its head, driving it into the ground face-first. I snatched the green-eyed boy's sword before he could protest, and drove it deep into the creature's skull. Seconds later, it disintegrated.

"I'll take that back, thank you very much!" the green-eyed boy said angrily, taking his sword back. He pulled out a pen cap from his pocket, and _capped his sword_. Now, there's something you don't see everyday! "Annabeth, are you okay?" he asked the blonde.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, untangling herself from Soleau and the dead kid.

_Minutes later..._

"So, you're Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Grover," I settled, making sure the introductions stuck.

"Yes, now come with us! We need to move before more monsters show up!" Percy said impatiently.

"Whoa, hold up!! Give me one good reason why I should come with you! Why should I even trust you?" I shot back.

"You trusted us during the fight," Nico reminded me.

"So? I only did that to survive!"

"Well, if you want to survive now, you'll come with us," Annabeth pointed out.

"Hmm..." I mulled it over. Things were pretty strange now. I didn't know what to think anymore. Who should I trust? "Where will we go?" I finally asked.

"Camp Half-Blood. That's where I go every summer," Soleau said.

"Fine. Explain the rest to me on the way," I amended.

"Okay, let's go!" Percy said, and began running.

"Percy, that's west. Camp is in New York, you know, northeast from here," Grover reminded.

"Oh. I knew that," Percy replied, slightly disgruntled.

"Sure you did," I said quietly. Luckily, he didn't hear me.

On the way there, Soleau began explaining the rest to me. "Okay, Camp Half-Blood is a place for demigods, like me, Percy, Annabeth, and Nico. You, too, apparently. We all have one immortal parent, and one human parent. My mom's mortal. My dad, however, is Aeolus, god of winds. That's why my mom named me what she did. My name has all the letters of my dad's, just mixed up a little. Percy-"

"My dad's Poseidon," he shot over his shoulder. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. That, or he just didn't like me. Probably the second one.

"Yeah, so..." Soleau struggled to fill the awkward silence. "Annabeth is the daughter of Athena. Nico is Hades' son."

"Uh-huh... Whose child am I?"

"We'll find out when we get to Camp," Annabeth told me.

"Do we have to walk all the way there?" I complained.

"No, we're going to find some horses," Percy said.

"Why? ...Oh, that's right!" I remembered. "Poseidon is also the god of horses! That makes sense..."

"Yep. Once we find horses, we'll head for the sea. Once we're there, hopefully Percy's dad will hook us up with some hippocampi, and soon after that, we'll be home-away-from-home, sweet home!" Soleau cheered happily.

"Oh, look, there they are!" Grover spotted them.

Percy took out some money and paid for the horses, and the rest of us mounted the creatures.

"Um... Hi," I said nervously to the horse.

It whinnied, reared back, and shot off. I held on for dear life...again. "AAAAAAAAAUUUUGGHHH!!!!" I screamed. "STOP, HORSE!!! STOP!!!!" I was panicking.

In an instant, Soleau was running alongside the horse, calming it down. "Ssshhh... Ssh... It's okay, don't worry, everything's fine," he said, patting its head. The horse eventually slowed down enough for Soleau to help me off. When I say 'help,' I really mean 'help me fall.' It wasn't his fault, though.

"Stupid horse..." I muttered as I stood up again. "Guys, I really don't feel comfortable riding by myself. Would it be alright if I rode second with one of you?" I asked apologetically.

"Sure," replied Nico. "Hop on."

I mounted the horse behind Nico, and we set off. On the way to the Atlantic, I fell asleep. Go figure.

* * *

_In the dream..._

I found myself standing in the middle of a large room, with twelve thrones surrounding me. 'I know this place,' I soon realized. 'I've never been here before in my life, but... it seems familiar somehow,' I thought. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear someone approach me from behind. It wasn't until I heard the final '_tak_' of his shoes against the floor, that I realized he was there.

"Finally decided to come, huh?" the figure said. I began to turn around, when the figure objected. "Don't turn around. Don't look at me. You mustn't. Not yet, at least."

"Why? Why not?" I was filled with questions.

"Hush, all will be revealed in time," the figure said, then I felt his hands brush my temples, and I lost consciousness in the dream.

* * *

I awoke at the shore of the Atlantic, in North Carolina. "Wow, we got here fast," I remarked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I did a quick head count, just to be sure I was with the right people. "Where's Nico?" I asked Soleau, as soon as I realized he was missing.

"You drooled in your sleep, and he's washing it off."

My face felt hot. Extremely so. "Oops," I replied sheepishly as Nico returned.

"Don't mention it," he responded drily.

"Okay, I've got the hippocampi, and it looks like we're all ready to go!" Percy seemed a lot... happier now, than he did back in Kansas.

"I know, Percy seems more upbeat," Annabeth said, coming up behind me, startling me in the process. "It's because we're close to the ocean."

"Let's go," I amended shakily, still scared from my last horse experience. "Before I come to my senses and realize that this is stupid."

"That's the spirit!" Soleau commented sarcastically.

_3 hours later..._

"Yes!" Grover cried, upon hitting the shores of the Camp. "We made it, and we only had to fight one monster!"

"Knock on wood," I followed up, rapping my knuckles on the nearest tree to emphasize my point.

"Right," Soleau finished.

"Whoa!! Is that a dragon up there, curled around the tree?!" I asked in astonishment.

"Yes. His name is Peleus. He protects that tree that he's wrapped around, because it sustains the barrier," Soleau answered.

"Ah! Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Grover, Soleau, good to see you've all returned! And with a new demi-god, too! Excellent!" I turned away from the dragon to see who (or what) was coming.

"Hey, Travis, Connor," Soleau greeted them. The others said their greetings, then left to go do... something. I don't know what, though, honestly. "James, this is Travis and Connor Stoll. They're the heads of the Hermes cabin."

"Wait a sec. Isn't Hermes the god of thieves, too?" I realized, stifling a grin. I'm sorry, but seriously, 'Stoll'? That's just too good!

"Yeah, yeah, we know," one of them stated. "Anyways, you should probably go see Chiron, or Mr. D. We'd recommend Chiron, 'cuz Mr. D is kinda... well, you'll find out soon enough."

"Okay, then. Soleau, will you come with me? I just know I'm gonna get lost on my own," I asked, embarrassed.

"Sure, let's go."

_Later, at the Big House..._

"Sorry. I should have tried harder to get Chiron to see you. Of all the rotten luck," Soleau apologized gloomily.

"You must really not like this guy, 'cuz I've never seen you this down in the dumps before," I remarked.

The two of us were sitting outside his office, waiting for our 'appointment.' We were waiting for him to get done with another group of campers, who had apparently made him angry in one way or another. 'Mr. D must be the head of this place,' I thought, bored.

Both of us turned when we heard his door open. The other two campers walked out, and I heard a voice (who I presumed to be Mr. D) call, "Next!"

We went inside, and I was astonished at what I saw. The man had bloodshot eyes, so he'd obviously been hitting the "happy juice." He was...um... rather large around the middle, which kind of shocked me. I had figured out that "Mr. D" was a pseudonym, and he was a god, but this guy looked really... ungodlike. I didn't say it out loud, of course! That's the kind of thing that would get me blasted into a bazillion pieces.

"So, who's our new friend, Soleau?" He pronounced it "Sow-lau." I knew, however that it was pronounced "Sew-low," instead.

"It's 'Soleau,' sir. And, this is James. He's undetermined, as of yet, but... Isn't your birthday coming up soon?" he asked me.

"Um, yeah... I'm turning thirteen," I responded in a haze. "You're... Dion-" I didn't get to finish.

Soleau clamped a hand over my mouth, whispering, "Don't use his name. Names have power. Just call him 'Mr. D.' You're right about who he is, though."

"Just in time, then. Welcome to Camp blah blah blah, and you know the rest," Mr. D said uninterested. 'Is he like this to everyone? Or is it just me?' I wondered.

"Thank you, sir. Come on, let's go find Chiron," Soleau told me, then dragged me by my arm out of the office.

"You must really hate that guy, huh?"

"More than anything in the world," he confessed, as soon we were out of his earshot. "Hi, Chiron!" he cried cheerfully, trying to get the centaur's attention. No, it didn't freak me out. After what's happened recently, it's kind of hard to freak me out.

"Hello, Soleau!" he greeted, pronouncing the name correctly. "This must be James, if I'm not mistaken?"

I tried to get something out of my mouth. All that came out was, "Um, I... guess?"

"He's in a little bit of shock, sir. This has all come on a little quick, hasn't it?" Soleau asked me.

"Uh... yeah. I mean, yes, it has," I stuttered, getting a grip on myself.

"He should be claimed soon, shouldn't he? Is his 13th birthday not coming up?" Chiron asked Soleau.

"Yes, sir. Oh! I know! James, grab my forearms. Contact with other demigods might trigger a reaction."

"Firmly grasp it in your hand," I muttered to myself, grabbing hold of Soleau's forearms.

"Hmm... Wha-?! Ohh..." Soleau trailed off, as he collapsed on the ground. Surprised, I released him.

"So, that's it, hm? That's who's claiming him?" Percy came walking up behind me, looking at the space above my head. "Chiron, who's the god of smiles?"

I looked above my head to see what was there. There was only a small curved line, glowing purple and black.

"That's not a smile, Percy. It's an eye, it's just closed," Chiron responded, hauling Soleau up from the ground.

I immediately began racking my brain for whose symbol the closed eye was. Then, it hit me. I'd been claimed by...

"Morpheus. I'm the son of Morpheus. God of dreams, and, by extension, sleep," I gasped, as this news hit me. "Chiron, sir, Soleau, he... he'll be alright, won't he?" I asked, worried.

"Yes, he's fine. You didn't do any real damage to him, and, besides, he's needed a good night's sleep, what with worrying about you and all." I felt guilty right away. My best friend's health had deteriorated, and it was all my fault.

"Don't worry about him," Annabeth assured me, coming to back me up, just when I needed it. "Soleau's been through much worse." **(A.N. I'll probably make a prequel to this at some point, describing Soleau's adventures, so... stay tuned!)**

"But..." I stammered. "What if he's dead? You know, sleep that knows no dreams?"

"Oh, you mean your great-uncle. Thanatos. God of death," Annabeth explained.

"No, that's Hades," Percy objected.

"No, Hades is lord of the dead, not death itself."

"It's the same thing, though, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

They both turned away from each other, with the "I'm-never-talking-to-you-again" looks on their faces. Great. So, I'd caused even more trouble at Camp Half-Blood.

I didn't know what to do next, so I did the logical thing, that anyone would do: banging my head against the nearest solid wall.

'Oh, gods,' I thought. 'What's next for me?'

* * *

**Okay the last line was not supposed to be a prayer, it just turned out that way *shrugs* Anyway, I'll keep working on this, so, if you'd like to make a suggestion, feel free to review or pm me! Please R&R!!**

**LoD is out!! PEACE!!!**


	2. I Make Friends, Old and New

**Me: Okay, so here's the next chapter, hope y'all enjoy it!! First, though, it's Luke with the disclaimer!**

**Luke: LoD owns nothing, 'cept for his own characters. Everything else belongs to Rick Riordan. (turns to me) Can I go-**

**Percy: Hey! *points at Luke* Aren't you supposed to be, oh, I don't know, DEAD?!**

**Luke: Oh, yeah... Right. *falls to the floor, dead***

**Me: OH MY GODS!!! HE KILLED LUKE!!! *points at Percy***

**Percy: Pssh. He was already dead. You kinda... brought him back to life.**

**Me: OMG I'M A NECROMANCER!!! *grins evilly* (Let this be a lesson to all of my readers: Never EVER(!!!!) give me sugar late at night.)**

**Percy: ... -_-**

**P.S.: Reviews are always appreciated, and all flames will be used to make blue chocolate chip cookies, which will be given to all reviewers. (This idea wasn't mine, it belongs to DaughterofPoseidon32498. Their story, '****M&M: Autobiography of a Demigod' rox!! Read it!!) (Also, I'd advise everyone to read Riptide Anaklusmos' stories, 'cuz they're really awesome, too!)  
**

* * *

The next day, I found out that Annabeth can read minds. Before we get to that, though, I'll catch you up with what's happened since last time.

So, the Morpheus Cabin is kinda undecorated, as it just got put up. I got to decorate it, to portray Morpheus' style. I figured that dreams would mean vast, swirly clouds, so I painted the walls with black, dark blue, light blue, and green paint. I swirled the colors around on the wall, unleashing my creative side in the process. So immersed in my work was I, that I didn't even notice that someone was standing in my doorway. That is, until they said something. "You certainly have decorated the place quickly," she said. I turned around quickly to see Annabeth standing there.

"Um, hi?" I didn't quite know what to say, since I wasn't exactly expecting visitors.

"You've got a little paint on your... everywhere, actually."

I wiped my face with the apron I was wearing, and looked in the mirror in the room. "GAH!!" I cried, when I saw that my face looked like a mosaic of sorts.

Annabeth laughed, "Don't go outside looking like that. The Aphrodite kids will think you're wearing makeup!"

"Haha. Very funny," I retorted. "Could you excuse me for a moment?" I asked, then zipped to the water basin I'd set up. I figured, since I was the son of Morpheus, maybe I could dream-gaze. You know, look into other people's dreams. I justed needed to figure out how. I washed my face quickly, then sat down on the bed. "So, what's up?"

"I thought you might like to know how Soleau's doing."

"Oh... Yeah, how is he?" I asked, feeling extremely guilty. I hadn't even thought about his condition since I had gotten started decorating.

"He's doing just fine. He's been really tired lately before you put him to sleep." More guilt. "But, I think you did a good thing. He needs sleep. We all do." She smiled at me encouragingly. Almost like a mother.

'Pssh. Better than the mom I had back home!' I thought uncharitably.

Now she starts reading minds. "That reminds me... We recently got an Iris-message from your mom." Crap. I froze."She's worried about you. She knows about all this, but doesn't really like it much, so-"

"Really?" I cut her off, releasing the pent-up anger that I had tried to keep buried. "Because, last time I checked, she hated me! And believe me, I've checked pretty recently! If she's really cared about me, why didn't she tell me about all of this 'demigod' stuff?! Huh?!"

"She was trying to protect you!" Annabeth responded somewhat angrily. "Why are you getting angry at me, anyway?"

I gasped as my eyes went wide. I realized that I was standing up, and sat back down. What was I doing? "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'm just a little confused right now, and when I get confused, I get angry. I'm not used to not understanding stuff, you know?" I said apologetically.

"Yeah, I know how that is," she said softly, sitting down next to me. "But, don't feel bad. It happens to everyone. We get frustrated, and we take it out on the nearest person. In this case, it just happened to be me."

"James! I'm glad I found you. There's- oh..." Percy had run into the room, but had stopped as soon as he had seen Annabeth. "Annabeth," he said with strain. "What are you doing here?"

"Talking to James. What are you doing here?" Annabeth retaliated, directing the focus away from herself.

"I came to find James. There's a demigod passed out on the border, against Thalia's tree. She was conscious before, and she said she knew James. Then she fell asleep. She must have been chased by monsters. She's all alone, no guardian or anything. James is our only lead as to who she is."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, as Percy and Annabeth silently fought each other. "So..." I said uncertainly, trying to solve this problem. "I guess the fight is still on?" More silence. "Well, it was nice to see you, Annabeth. I better go check on the girl, so... see you."

"Yeah... later," she replied distantly as she followed us out of the cabin. Once we were outside, though, she walked off in a different direction.

"Sooo..." I said, trying to coax some response out of Percy besides even more silence. "Anything important happen lately?"

"No, not a whole lot... Unless, of course, saving the world isn't anything important," he replied semi-acidly.

"Okaay, then... Is that her over there?" I asked, pointing to the girl's unmoving body.

"Yep, that's her. Hey, kid, wake up," Percy said, roughly shaking the girl awake. I glared at him, then turned to inspect her. She was one year older than me, with blond-brown hair. I mean, it was blond some places, but brown underneath. She wore glasses, and she had various twigs in her hair, which was in a ponytail.

"You've been through a lot, huh?" I murmured. "Lyana, wake up."

"So, you know her, too?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. She and I went to the same school. Lyana, we need you to wake up."

The girl groaned, then opened her eyes and stood up. I saw that her eyes were exactly as I had suspected: stormy gray. "She always was really smart. Once I found out about all this, I figured as much," I told Percy. I asked her, "Daughter of Athena, correct?"

"Yes, I am. I-"

"Whoa, hold up there!" Percy said, holding his hands in front of him. "How do you know who your immortal parent is? How do you even know you're a demigod?!"

"Soleau told me," the girl said innocently. "Two years ago, he found out, and made a guess as to whose child I was. Right after that, an owl appeared in the nearby forest. We both took that to mean that Athena had claimed me."

"Well, um..." Percy said, slightly shocked. "Wait, why haven't you been at Camp Half-Blood the past two summers then?"

"My p-" She started to respond, but was cut off by the conch shell signal. Time for dinner.

At the pavilion, Lyana sat with the rest of the Athena campers. She and Annabeth had become fast friends. They were talking about various architectural stuff that I didn't get at all. I sat alone at my table. I looked over at the table where the Aeolus campers (camper, I reminded myself) were supposed to sit, and sighed. I thought to myself, 'I really need a weapon of some kind. One that I can carry with me at all times, so I can defend myself and my friends.'

I was so lost in thought that I almost missed the toast. I raised my glass, and cried, "To the gods!" with everyone else. I glanced over at the Poseidon table, and saw Percy sitting alone. I wondered if there were other children of Poseidon. The wood nymphs strode to the tables, with platters loaded with food. I took moderate portions of most of the foods. I wasn't feeling relaxed for some reason, and my gut was tight. Because of this, I wasn't very hungry. It happens whenever I get tense. Kind of a knee-jerk reaction.

Once I had filled my plate, I got up and put some of my food in the fire. I actually put about half of my plate in there by accident. Later, though, I figured, if I wasn't going to eat it, at least the gods can get some enjoyment from it. I went back to the Morpheus table and sat down. I proceeded to consume the rest of my dinner halfheartedly. When I was halfway through what I had after the offering, I slid my plate away from me. I crossed my arms in front of me on the table, and rested my chin in the small space my arms made.

"Is everything okay?" I heard a female voice next to me say. I looked up, and saw a beautiful young girl sitting next to me. It took me a little while to realize that she was a wood nymph. "You've seemed kind of distracted ever since you sat down." She looked at me with concerned eyes the color of the sun shining through leaves in spring.

"Can't you feel it?" I asked her, lifting my head.

"Feel what?" she replied, tilting her head to one side.

I sighed. "Nothing, never mind. I just can't shake the feeling that something's approaching camp. Something very bad."

"Yes, I feel so, too."

"You do?"

"Yes. We wood nymphs have a sort of built-in warning system. We kind of need it, now that humans are cutting down trees," she said, with an almost forlorn look. I immediately thought back to the week before, when I had thrown a plastic bottle away, instead of recycling it. More guilt. 'Ugh,' I thought.

"Must be nice, knowing exactly what you have," I said miserably. "I don't know all of what I can do, and because of it, my best friend is in a terrible deep sleep."

"There, there," she said, patting my shoulder. "He'll be okay. You actually did him a kindness, it just didn't seem so at the time."

"A kindness?" I asked incredulously. "How so?"

"I think he has a sense similar to yours, that gives him a little warning when danger is coming. He has been up for days on end recently, before returning here."

"How- Oh..." I stopped myself from finishing the question. I realized that this particular wood nymph had a crush on my best friend. Awkward...

"It's not like that!" she replied hurriedly, blushing. 'Can trees blush?' I wondered.

"Okay, okay. I'm not going to pry," I said calmly.

I looked around and noticed that campers were looking towards Mr. D, who was standing. He addressed the multitude of beings there, which included demigods, satyrs, naiads, wood nymphs, and a centaur. "Well, you all are probably thinking I should welcome you. Welcome. There. Chiron has informed me that we may be reinstating the chariot races, but before we do that, there will be one this Friday, to see if you bunch of brats have enough control for it. I couldn't care less, but we have two new campers with us, Jason Wilby and Lainie Smith."

Chiron whispered something in Mr. D's ear.

"Eh, James Wilson and Lyana Stonea," Mr. D remedied. "Yes, yes, huzzah and all that. Now, go and have your mindless campfire."

The campers got up and left, group by group. I looked over at the girl who had shared a reassuring conversation with me, and found that she was already running back to the trees. "It was nice talking to you!" she called over her shoulder.

"Same here!" I called back, feeling a little bit better. She melted into the trees, and I found myself feeling a little bit saddened. I wanted to help her. Her people. My best friend, by extension.

"Yo, James!" I stood up and turned to the voice. Percy was walking towards me.

"What's up?" I asked as he approached.

"I need you to do something for me. Can you help?"

"Maybe. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to give this to Annabeth," he answered, pulling out an envelope. "Tell her I want to apologize. I can't do it myself, because I think she's still harboring some harsh feelings."

I said, "I can do that."

He grinned. "Great. If possible, I need you to do it by tomorrow. Cool?"

"Frozen," I finished as I took the envelope. It was surprisingly heavy.

"Awesome," he replied as he rushed off to the campfire. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his behavior, like something was going to explode.

I thought as I walked over to the fire pit, 'What could be in here besides a letter?' I took a seat as the Apollo cabin began a sing-along. 'No way,' I thought, as one of the female Apollo campers looked at me imploringly. 'There is no way I'm singing,' I thought, hoping she would get the message. I narrowed my eyes a little, to emphasize my point. She simply shrugged and continued singing.

Guilt. Yes, I have more now. 'Styx,' I silently cursed as I began to sing. Amazingly, I couldn't hear myself. All I could hear was the combined voice of all the singers. I glanced over at the Apollo girl who had gotten me to sing. She smiled at me, and the sound changed. All of a sudden, there was a gillion-part harmony of the song, with every camper singing a different tune. I was singing the main tune to 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic.' Unbelievable. Somehow, they managed to make songs that shouldn't sound harmonious together sound glorious. I half-smiled at the Apollo girl. She sang even louder.

After the campfire, I left for the Athena cabin. I knocked on the door, and waited. A few seconds later, Lyana came to the door. "Yes?" she asked.

"Um, delivery," I said uncertainly. "It's for Annabeth. Percy says he wants to apologize. Can you give this to her, and pass on the message?" I asked, handing Lyana the package.

"Sure. I can't believe you're a demigod, too, James," she said, smiling.

"I know. Crazy, right?"

"Yeah. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good night," she finished softly, as she closed the door.

"Sweet dreams," I replied sleepily. Jokingly, I added, "And, if you don't have any, I'll be sure to have a talk with my dad."

She laughed from the other side of the door.

I went back to the Morpheus cabin, and finished decorating. On one wall, I left it blank. I would use this wall for recording important information, I decided.

I got into bed, and fell asleep quickly. 'Thank you, Dad,' was my last thought before losing consciousness.

* * *

Once again, I found myself in the giant hall I had been in last time. I recognized it as Mt. Olympus from my Ancient History lessons the day before. However, this was only for a moment. Next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a dark valley, surrounded by poppies.

"Good, you found your way here. You're early, too." I turned on my heel, to see a man clad in a robe consisting of dark fabric. It was almost every color (except yellow), just shaded really darkly. In one hand, he held a book, with a title in a language that I couldn't read at all. He had wings on his back, and they kept changing colors. From black to indigo to crimson to viridian and back again.

I blinked. I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I then asked, "What do you mean, 'found my way here'? Early for what? Just who are you?" The last question was more demanding sounding than I had intended.

"Wait, wait! So many questions, all at once? Which one would you like answered first?" he asked, smiling.

"The last one."

"Very well. I am Morpheus, god of dreams. You are my son, James Trace Wilson. By find your way here, I really mean just getting here at all. I figured it would take you much longer. The monsters at the Gates of Morpheus should have stopped you."

"I fear nothing," I said impulsively. "Wait, no, that's a lie. I fear..." I rectified, thinking quickly. "Losing the ones who are close to me. Which now includes you."

"Thank you," he said politely. "How did you get here, anyways?"

I stumbled mentally, as I tried to think of how I had gotten here. I came up with nothing. "I don't know. Maybe my being your son gives me some special privileges, or something."

"I see," he said, scrutinizing me. "You need a weapon."

"I do, don't I?" I agreed with him. "How will I get one, though? And where? Who could possibly make one?"

"I might be able to come up with someone."

Whoosh. There was a sudden gust of wind around us that whipped up a bunch of sand. "Ack! I can't see!" I cried in a panic.

"Check again." The voice was my father's, but I opened my eyes to see an incredibly muscular African American boy, with a staff in his hands. I noted that it was in pieces.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

The voice was different this time. "My name is Charles Beckendorf. Son of-"

"Hephaestus," I said, cutting him off. "Percy mentioned you at Camp. What's that in your hands?"

"Your weapon. I need you to perform some modifications on it yourself, in order for it to become anchored to the rest of the world. I'll give this to you," he said, handing the broken rod to me. "You have to do it by sunset tomorrow, or it'll be sent back here. We'll have to go through this all over again."

I accepted the rod, saying, "You're not really Beckendorf, are you? You actually had me fooled for a second, Dad!" I laughed at the end.

Beckendorf scowled. Another squall of wind, another flash of sand. Morpheus was standing there again. "How could you tell? What gave me away?"

"Well, for starters, Beckendorf is in Elysium, so he couldn't be here right now. And, also, I did my homework. I looked up what your powers were, and they included taking the form of any human," I finished, then shrugged.

"Not bad," he admitted. "Not bad at all. So, anyways, take this rod, and do some work on it yourself. Work quickly." He stiffened. "Your friends need you," he said urgently, then reached for my temples.

"Oh, no need. I can do it myself. Goodbye, Father." I willed myself out of existence in the realm of dreams.

* * *

I woke up to Percy shaking me. "Good, you finally woke up!" He looked frenzied. "Monsters are attacking the camp! Take this!" he shouted, handing me a katana sword. How he had gotten hold of it, I'll never know. Luckily, I had seen a lot of katana sword fights in the past, so I had a pretty good idea of how to use it. I accepted the blade, setting the rod from my father down on the bed.

"Let's go!" An explosion shook the ground, and I knew that monsters would be here any second. "How could they have gotten so close?" I yelled, as we ran into the fray.

"I don't know! Maybe someone led them here?"

"Wait! Wait for me!" We both turned around to see Annabeth running towards us, knife in hand. As she neared, Percy grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her in. I turned away, but I knew they were sharing a kiss. Part of me wanted to go, "Blegghhh..." but another part wondered if I would ever find someone like that.

Half a minute later, Lyana joined us, and the four of us ran to the fight. I began slashing away at the monsters. First, I decapitated a mechanical bull (completely by accident), then I stabbed a empousa in the midsection, this time on purpose. I was about to cut a dracenae down the middle when I heard a groan behind me. I kicked the creature away, then turned to see Connor Stoll lying on the ground, looking like he was in serious pain.

"Help me," he croaked. I could tell that he wanted nothing more than for the pain to stop, but I knew from the way I was feeling right now that the adrenaline already coursing through his system was not going to let him. I resorted to using my powers. I placed my index fingers against his temples, and he fell asleep. I struggled not to let too much of my power go. I heard him say, "Thank you," before passing out. I laid him down on the ground, so he could rest.

I heard a hideous noise from behind me, and turned just in time to get crashed into by another mechanical bull. I cried out in pain, but it was lost in the heat of battle. The beast's force of impact caused me to go flying... right into the side of the Demeter cabin. The wall cracked a little from the sheer force. I heard most of my ribs shatter.

I lost consciousness soon after. What I didn't know, however, was that I was going to be asleep a lot longer than I thought.

A year would pass before I woke up again.

* * *

**Uh-oh!! Don't worry, he's not dead. It wouldn't make sense for that to happen, now would it?! I know what will happen next, so just stay tuned! Please R&R!!  
LoD **


	3. I Get A Lot Older

**I saw _The Lightning Thief_ recently!! The movie itself was alright, but there was a LOT missing/changed from the book. After I saw it and got out of the theater, I immediately launched into an EPIC rant over the changes (trust me, you don't want to hear it; it lasted 3 hours!!!).**

**Anyways, the first part of this chapter takes place entirely in James' dream! It's a pretty long dream, too, as he's unconscious for a year!! He does wake up at the end, though, so... yeah. Anyways, after an extremely long pleading session with the gods (you don't want to know!), I managed to get ZOË NIGHTSHADE down from the sky, so she can do the disclaimer! Take it away, Zoë!**

**Zoë: Yes, whatever. Lord of Darkrai owneth nothing except for his own characters. Accuse him of thievery, and I shall fill thy hearts with celestial arrows!!**

**Me: Uh, Zoë? It's 'your,' not 'thy,' remember?**

**Zoë: This language changes too often!! Goodbye, and remember what I said! (glares threateningly, then disappears into the sky)**

**Me: Bye, Zoë! Anyways, here's the next chapter!! ^^ Enjoy!**

* * *

I opened my eyes to see my father's abode, the Fields of Morpheus. Somehow, I had a feeling that I'd be here for a while. I was greeted by my father, and two others that I couldn't identify. I racked my brain, at the same time trying to smooth my frazzled nerves, trying to remember who they were. I came up with nothing, because I couldn't concentrate due to the adrenaline in my veins. I decided to ask. I asked, "Um, hi, Dad. Who... Uh, who-who are your friends?" gesturing to the two beings at his sides.

"These are my two brothers. This is Phobetor," he said, gesturing to the one on his right. "He controls nightmares."

He stepped forward, saying, "Greetings, nephew. It is good to finally meet you." He shook my hand firmly, grasping it with both hands. I took a moment to analyze what he looked like. He wore a black robe, with a gray swirl pattern all over it. He had gray hair that came down to the base of his neck. Despite this, he had a face that looked like he was in his early thirties, maybe late twenties. His eyes were an incredibly dark shade of gray. It wasn't the same shade as the eyes of children of Athena, because his were even darker. "Step back," he said, releasing my hand. I did so, and he changed. His body was made completely out of some kind of dark, purple-y particle stuff that I had a feeling I did NOT want to come into contact with. The figure began to change again, and it morphed into the form of a snake. The dark purple stuff cleared up, and there was a black mamba on the floor in front of me. I screamed, and jumped back.

The man on the left spoke now, chastising the other brother. "Phobetor, stop it. You're scaring him! Hi, I'm Phantasos!" He stepped forward, smiling and shaking my hand eagerly. The snake just rolled its eyes. "I control all the good dreams!" He looked like it, too. His face portrayed him being twenty or so years old. His hair was pure white. His robe was incredibly happy-looking. It was all bright colors, that included: sky blue, bright red that was almost pink, yellow, sea green, yellow orange, a light indigo, and white. He then said, "I would tell you to stand back, but you're already there, so just stay there, okay?" He smiled, then his body became composed of the same strange stuff that Phobetor had become, except that it was white with Phantasos. The figure morphed, and it stopped in the shape of a... crystal. It wasn't just any crystal, though. It was a diamond.

I said, "Wow," as I examined it. I was too freaked out to try to touch it. The diamond was freaking flawless!

Morpheus spoke up now, saying, "Alright, guys, that's enough showing off." The snake and diamond both changed again, reverting to their forms that I had seen originally. "Honestly," Morpheus muttered under his breath. "Any questions you have for your uncles?" he asked, being forthcoming now.

"Yeah. So, if you're all three brothers, who's the oldest?"

"We're triplets," said the brothers in three-part harmony. "We are the Oneiroi. We control the land of dreams, and you shall always be welcome here."

I smiled, and walked towards them. Together, we walked towards the center of the valley. Morpheus and Phantasos each put one arm around my shoulders, with Phobetor walking close by, and all four of us were smiling. I spent the next year training here. As it turns out, each brother was also experienced in a specific activity. Phobetor excelled in swordfighting, so I trained with him, because I figured I would need it when I woke up. Phantasos was really good with history, so he taught me a BUNCH of stuff. Morpheus, however, was my teacher in mechanics.

One day, after what felt like three months, Morpheus brought out the rod that he'd given me the last time I'd been here. Because I hadn't had any time to work on the rod in the rest of the world, it had gotten warped back here. I saw it, and felt guilty. I apologized profusely. "Dad, I... I'm really sorry, but I didn't get to work on the rod. I didn't have any time at all. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble," I finished, looking down at the ground.

He shook his head, signaling that I wasn't at fault. He simply said, "It's alright. We'll fix it here, so you have it when you wake up." I smiled, and we fixed it. In finished form, it was basically a pole with a ceramic-looking orb at one end. I had a pretty good feeling that it was harder than it looked. While it was disguised, though, it took the form of a small shaft. It had a keychain at one end, and it was over a small button. I don't know how, but I got the feeling that pushing the button would take it out of disguised form.

Once we were done, he explained its function. "This rod has more than one function. It will let you generate a shield from the orb on the end, encompassing you and those around you. It also blocks attacks from the outside, and the inside. Mainly, though it allows you to transport from wherever you are when you use it to right here, the Fields of Morpheus. All you have to do is say, '_Exodus_,' and it will warp you and whoever else you want to take with you to this exact location. Use it whenever you need it, and I'm sure that you'll find it very useful." He smiled when he finished. "You need to give it a name, though. Otherwise, the magic won't have any effect, and it won't reappear in your pocket in its disguised form if you lose it."

I took the finished rod, thinking of what to name it. "I've got it!" I finally announced.

"What will its name be?"

"Okay, check it out: the 'Morpheo-Rod'! What do you think?"

"Mmm... I don't know, what about the 'Oneiro-Rod'?"

I gasped. "That's even better! The 'Oneiro-Rod' it is! ... Whoa!" The staff began pulsing in my hand, and I had a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach as I knew that the weapon was ready to be used. One look at my father's expression told me that he knew what was on my mind. My throat felt dry as I raised the question. "How long have I been here?"

Morpheus let out a breath, as he said, "That's a difficult question, my son. There is no flow of time in dreams, because they are dreams. Nearly everything about them is under the dreamer's control, and that includes the length of time that they are in the dream. Only you decided when the dream is over." He leaned back in his chair, and I stood up. Just as I was about to thrust the staff into the air and cry, '_Exodus_,' my uncles interrupted.

"Hold it! Don't go yet!" Phantasos called as he ran into the cave Morpheus was teaching me in. Phobetor immediately followed.

"You didn't really think we were going to let you leave without saying goodbye, did you?" Phobetor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh... yeah, of course not!" I said hastily.

"We each have a gift for you to use on your quest that imminently awaits you back at Camp. I have this for you," Phantasos said as he reached into his robe's pocket and pulled out a book. "This contains an incredibly large collection of Greek _myths_ (he scoffed and rolled his eyes when he said 'myths'), along with biographies of all the gods and goddesses. I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of it!" He pulled me into a hug and smiled. He then handed me the book, which I put in my new backpack (how did that get there?), and he then stepped back to allow Phobetor to come forward.

Phobetor stepped towards me as he took out a sword, a katana, very similar to the one I'd been using before I had gotten transported here, except for the fact that this sword was completely black. "Its name is-" he said something in Greek that I couldn't quite understand. I was about to ask what it meant, when he translated. "It means 'blade of despair,' but you can call it whatever you want."

I said, "Thank you," as I accepted the blade with its sheath. As I took it, it shrank and changed, until it was a small flashlight which was only about four inches long. I saw no button of anykind on it, so I asked, "Wait, how do I get it back?"

Phobetor spoke, "Just twist the end that the bulb isn't on, and the blade will come from the bulb. You can use it as a regular flashlight, too, I guess, but whatever." He thrust his hands in the pockets of his robe, looking aloof.

I stuck it in my pocket, and thought. "Hmm... I'll call it 'Desparade'. It's perfect! Thank you both so much."

I turned to my father, and he said, "You already have my gift, but I have one more for you. It's a very valuable piece of information, so don't tell it to anyone."

"What is it?" My tone was suddenly serious, as was his.

"Your fatal flaw. I can't tell you directly, but I will say this: Watch out for wolves."

As my mind began racing, I bade my farewells. "I guess this is it, then, huh?"

"I guess so," Phobetor replied, shaking my hand brusquely.

Phantasos was next. "You'll still visit, though, right?" He sounded so hopeful, I couldn't bear to let him down.

"Yes, of course," I replied as I shook his hand, too.

"Be good, son." Morpheus was last, and he pulled me into a hug as I was about to shake his hand. "Show them all what you're made of."

"I will. I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, son." He let me go, and I stepped back, eyes closed.

I felt a strange tingle at the base of my neck. There was a flash of sand, and then it all went black... well, blacker. I knew it was time to wake up, and see what had happened since I was gone.

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly, and I saw Soleau's worried face hovering over me. His worry changed to relief soon, though, as he called to unknown people, "Hey! He's waking up! Thank goodness!" He turned his attention to me. "I thought you were dead!"

I sat up, and I saw that I was in the Big House. Percy, Annabeth, Lyana, Chiron (in wheelchair form), and another guy came into the room. I groaned as I asked uncertainly, "What happened? How long was I out?"

"You've been asleep for a whole year. You should probably look in the mirror to see all the changes that went on during that time," Lyana said, gesturing towards the one that was nearest to the bed that I was in. Getting up from the bed, I looked down at my body.

"Huh. That's weird. I didn't expect the ground to be so far away," I said jokingly as I stood completely. I looked in the mirror, and saw... me. At the same time, though, it wasn't me. "Wha-" I gasped, trying to form words. "I thought you said I was only out for _one_ year!" I wailed. I looked to be about fourteen, almost fifteen. My hair was a lot longer, reaching down to my shoulders. I was dressed the same as I was in the Fields, but the clothes were bigger, to accommodate my new height. I was a lot leaner, more muscular, which was good, seeing as I'd been a little out of shape before then. I figured this was due to the training with Phobetor, though I wondered how body changes in a dream would make it over to the real world.

"Calm down, calm down. It's true, you were out for only a year, but after six months, your body hadn't changed at all, so we had Chiron perform an ancient spell, one that accelerates growth a little bit, because we figured that you'd be more freaked out if you were still the same. We accidentally overdid it, though, and we ended up aging you two years instead of one. Sorry," Percy said apologetically.

"Well, you're probably right. Thank you, but I'm just... I-I need a little time to process this," I said, turning away.

"Okay, that's fine. Come on, guys, let's- hm?" Soleau was about to leave, when I grabbed his shoulder.

I begged him, "Will you stay here, though? I need someone to catch me up with what's happened since I was out, and I want it to be you. Please?" I looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, then realized how awkward this must be. I mean, a fifteen-year-old using puppy-dog eyes on a thirteen-year-old? I stopped as soon as I realized this. "Please?"

"Sure, okay." Upon seeing the others' concerned looks, Soleau reassured them. "It's okay, you guys go on ahead, we'll catch up later." The others left, and Soleau began relaying past-current events.

"So, during the battle, I woke up, and joined the battle, with this!" He grinned maniacally as he pulled out the leather-wrapped handle of a blade of some kind. "Check this out." He pressed a button on one end, and the blade jumped out. It was curved, but it wasn't very long. It was only about a foot and a half. He saw my look of disbelief, and said, "Wait, it gets better." He grabbed the blade part of it, and made a flipping motion with his elbow, like he was extending his arm. Another blade, identical to the first, flipped out of the first one, completing it into a double-sided weapon. I figured that he could probably throw it like a boomerang, or separate the two blades and fight like that.

"Cool," was all I said.

"I know, right? Anyway, we drove out the monsters, and tended to the wounded. You were pretty screwed up, though. We had to summon Apollo, which isn't very easy. Trust me, if you've ever had to flag down the sun, you'd know why it was so hard. So, he fixed you up, and then you stayed asleep the rest of the time. During that time, three people got quests, but they aren't important right now. Umm..." He tried to remember what else happened. "Oh! Oh, yeah."

"What is it?"

"We, uh... we found a new demigod, but he refused to come with us. At first, that is. We eventually got him to go, though. He's about the same age as you are now, and I think you guys will get along great. James, once you're ready, I'd like you to meet him."

I took a deep breath. "Well, I think I now know enough about what's happened that I think I'm ready to come out. Let's go meet the guy." I stood up from the bed and we went outside. I asked, "Was this guy the same guy who was with you earlier?" as we walked.

"Yeah, he was. You'll have plenty of time to talk with him, though." We began searching like mad. We began at the Big House, then looked through the various "landmarks" on site: the lake, the archery range (we had to duck several times), the volleyball court, and the various cabins. I tried to ignore the dirty looks thrown at me from the Demeter kids (oops). Finally, we found both him and Percy. They were having a swordfight, which I figured was probably just for training.

The new guy thrust. Percy deflected, then struck again. The new guy blocked it, and tried to disarm Percy. Percy dodged, and swung at the new guy's neck. He ducked, and jumped back. Percy jumped back, too, and they both launched themselves forward. With one tremendous slash, both weapons went flying. They both just stood there for a moment, panting. Then, the new guy said, "I guess that means we're even. Eh?" He looked at me, and smiled. I looked at his face, waking myself up from my trance. The fight had been so exciting, I'd kind of spaced out, watching it. His face was scarred in several spots, leaving him with a sort of "don't mess with me, or I'll slice you up" flair about him. His eyes told a different story. Two, actually. First, he was a nice guy, he just looked scary. Second, by looking at them, I noticed that they were completely blank, meaning that he couldn't see.

"Incredible," I breathed. "I... Are you really...?"

"Blind?" he asked. I nodded. "Yep. My name's Mortimer. Call me Mort, though. You're James, correct?" He wiped sweat from his brow, and extended his hand to me. Hesitating slightly, I reached out and shook it, nodding at the same time. "Wondering how I can use a sword and still be in one piece afterwards, seeing as I'm blind?" He released the handshake, and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. That was... amazing, to say the least! How did you do that?"

He sheathed his sword, and wiped some more sweat from his forehead. "I can sense the life energy of others, see where they are. Kind of. I don't know how, but I can. I still haven't been claimed." He looked at the ground, dejectedly.

I walked up next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, man. It'll come soon, just wait and- whoa!" I stepped away abruptly, looking over the new guy's head. We all looked at the holographic image that was suddenly there. A butterfly, shimmering and fluttering, had sparked into existence. Needless to say, I pulled out the book that Phantasos had given me, and opened it to the index. "Butterfly, butterfly... Where is that stupid butterfly?! Ah! Here it is!" Soleau leaned in over my shoulder, trying to see what the book said. "According to this, Mortimer is the son of Thanatos, god of death," I announced triumphantly, closing the book.

"Death, huh? Maybe the life energy I read off of other people is actually how close they are to death... Yeah, because in Percy's direction, there's kind of a light color, but... hm... In Soleau's direction, it seems to be a bit darker. It's probably just because Percy took a dip in the Styx. It most likely means nothing," he finished, smiling. There was something wrong with the smile, like he was trying to assure himself, too.

"Well, look at the time. We should probably be getting off to dinner, now, huh? Let's go!" Soleau said, and we all raced down to the pavilion.

We ate dinner, with Mort sitting with me, seeing as there was no Thanatos table (or cabin) yet. Seeing as we were first cousins, once removed, we should be allowed to sit together. Everything worked out fine, though. No one had anything to say about, well... anything. After everyone was done sacrificing, eating, drinking, etc., Mr. D stepped up. He said, "Our activities director has informed me that 'capture-the-flag' will be this Friday, so I expect there to be enough self-control in you brats," he looked at the Ares, Poseidon, and Athena campers, who all looked away, murmuring. Mr. D continued, "That there will be no need to cancel this, as we have done with the chariot races. Now, then, it seems our 'dream boy' has woken up, too. It must be a relief, having more in your numbers." He rolled his eyes, saying it like we were rebelling against him. "Now, run along and have your pointless campfire," he said, stepping down. We all ran over to the campfire, and it was then that I noticed the little girl. She was only about eight years old, and she was poking the coals with a stick. I was about to say something, when I realized that she would have wanted to be left unknown.

After the campfire was done, I walked over to the Aeolus cabin, knocking on the door as if there was more than one camper in there. Soleau opened the door, asking, "Yes?"

"Hey. Can we talk?" I asked, gesturing towards the woods. He said yes, and we went over near the river. "So," I sighed. "One year has gone by."

"Yes. It's felt like it has gone by so slowly without you."

"Hm. That reminds me, how's that dryad girl who likes you?"

Soleau's posture changed. He kind of drooped. Uh-oh. "She... she died."

I gasped, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

He put a hand up to stop me. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean to do anything. I miss her so much..." he trailed off.

I put my arm around him, and patted his shoulder. I pretended not to see the tears in his eyes. "What was her name?" I asked hoarsely.

"Ivy. Not the poison kind. Just the regular, sweet kind..." he trailed off again. Slightly irritating, but I knew that this wasn't the time. He looked up at the sky mournfully.

We sat there for about another five minutes, with just me consoling him, trying in vain to make things okay. It wasn't going to be for a long time.

Afterwards, I went back to my cabin, and found Mort in the other bed, snoring like crazy. I rolled my eyes and got into bed. 'Please, Dad, no dreams tonight,' I prayed. 'The last thing I need right now is more to think about.' I closed my eyes, and he heard my prayer. No dreams.

* * *

Okay, that's out of the way! Next chapter will be about the capture the flag game!! FUN!!! Anyways, you see that little green button down there? Well, by pressing it, you do 3 things.  
1) you make me an incredibly happy guy;  
2) you make me type that much faster;  
3) you make me write a better story.

So, yeah. Anyhow, REVIEW!!!!  
right  
down  
there  
\V/


	4. We Have A Problem

**Greetings, readers!! I'm back, yes, back!! Wait, it gets better. Wait for it... wait for it... wwwaaaiiiittt ffffoooooorrrrrr iiiiitttttt... I BROUGHT MORE OF THE STORY, TOO!!!! *surprise, surprise* Now, then. In answer to ForgetVampireIWantToBeAJedi's question, no, Mort is not a reference to Discworld. In truth... I've barely read any of the Discworld books! ^^' Now, I'm skipping ahead to the Friday mentioned at the end of the last chapter, mainly because I couldn't think of anything to put in between now and then. Oh, well... Enjoy!!**

**Oh, but first... THE DISCLAIMER!!! (as if it weren't obvious already...)**

**Disclaimer: If you don't know that I don't own PJO by now, you need to go to school. (or a psychiatric hospital, and trust me, I've been to enough of those to know what it's like. None of them could even HOPE to cure ME, though!! *insert evil insane grin here*)**

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I stumbled out of bed and into some fresh clothes. I looked over and saw Mort, still snoring like crazy. I took a look at my watch and thought, 'When did I get a watch??' I took it off, turned it over, and there was a small piece of paper between the watch's back and my skin. I took it out, and read what was written on it. _'James, Saw that you didn't have one yet, and thought that you'd probably like to know the time, so I decided to get this for you. :) Soleau.'_ I smiled. How had he gotten it on me, though? Eh, it didn't matter. I'd be sure to thank him later.

I walked outside, and breathed in the crisp, fresh, 5-in-the-am morning air. Seeing that there was no one else out at this crazy hour of the morning, I decided to kill some time (and some practice dummies) at the archery range and sword practice field. I had never actually tried archery before, but I had a pretty good idea of how it worked. 'Just grab the string, pull it back, and...' *snap* 'S***!!' I thought, as the bowstring broke. I dropped the bow and rubbed my arm where the bowstring had snapped against my arm. As I did, I heard someone laughing behind me. I glowered in their direction, and they stepped out from the shadows.

"Hey, kid." He was huge. Like, scary ripped, like Fred the minotaur had been, only a little more so. Okay, a lot more so. He wore red wraparound shades, and he was dressed like a hardcore biker. "Got something for you."

"Um, who are you?" I asked skeptically. I didn't really trust anyone right now. Not only that, but I felt like annihilating something (or someone). _**[Have you figured it out yet?]**_

"Name's Ares, kid. Like I said, I got something for you," said Ares, as he drew something from his pocket. He pulled out...a gun?

"No," I said firmly. "I am not using a gun."

Ares sneered. "It's not for you to use, kid." He raised it up, and was about to fire, when he got his feet swept out from under him. I looked around in bewilderment, and saw Soleau standing next to me, in battle mode.

"Hey!" he said impatiently. "Don't just stand there, do something!" I realized that he was now tied up in ropes. At this point, I was thoroughly confused. Luckily, Chiron trotted up, and Ares disappeared, and Soleau's ropes vanished.

I just stood there with this look on my face that clearly said, 'uhhh...WTH?!?!' and looked as though it were on the edge of 'the deep end' as Chiron looked meaningfully at me, and said, "I suppose you couldn't escape it forever." With that, he turned and went back to the Big House. I followed him, and Soleau did, too.

I had to wait until everybody else was up to discuss it. I had to wait a long time for it, though... When all the cabin leaders (along with certain others, e.g. Mort, Lyana, Grover, etc.) were present at the Big House, I did a sort of roll call, and the list included: Mr. D, Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Lyana, Mort, Soleau, Will Solace, Katie Gardner (who kept shooting me dirty looks), Jake Mason (the Hephaestus cabin leader), Pollux, Clarisse, and several others whose names I didn't know.

"So... Would someone like to explain to me what just happened?" I said, igniting the conversation.

"Well, it seems to me like it was a nightmare, a living nightmare," Percy said. "Based on what you've told us, that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I yelled angrily, rising from my seat, only to find myself being dragged down to my seat by grape vines.

Pollux and Mr. D were both restraining me. I sulked, while Percy said, "Well, it's like the dream world and the real world are merging. Since dreams are your thing, it would make sense that you're behind this, so you'd lie, or hide something," and he reclined in his seat.

"Well, it might also be that one or more of the dream gods is in trouble," Soleau added. "James? Know anything about it?"

"Umm..." I looked at the ceiling thoughtfully, while all the others' eyes turned to me. "I don't know anything about it, but I can go check it out. Soleau, Lyana, come with me," I requested, drawing the Oneiro-Rod. "Exodus!" I cried, and the three of us disappeared in a swirl of sand.

* * *

We arrived in the Fields of Morpheus, and Soleau looked like he was about to puke. "Ugh... That was not enjoyable..."

I replied, "Sorry," and we began looking for my father and uncles, but we couldn't find them.

"They must be busy right now," Lyana suggested. "Let's go back, and try again later. After Capture the Flag, perhaps?"

I nodded, and shouted, "Exodus!"

* * *

We landed in the Big House, in the exact spot where we'd left. Soleau ran over to the trash can, and vomited. Gross. Lyana, on the other hand, was just fine. 'Interesting,' I thought.

"Well?" Clarisse asked. "Did you find anything out?"

I shook my head sadly, and Lyana said, "We couldn't find them. They were probably just busy. We're going to check again, after Capture the Flag." The last three words sent nearly everyone else into a panic.

The initial teams:  
Blue Team: Poseidon, Athena, Demeter, Hephaestus, Hermes, Aeolus, Iris, Hades, Harmonia;  
Red Team: Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Apollo, Morpheus (Thanatos included), Hecate, Nemesis, Eris, Janus;

Great. I was up against ALL THOSE POWERFUL CABINS?!?!?! How's that for unfair?! I also wasn't a particular fan of Ares, so I sought a transfer. Later that day, I decided to make my move. I went up to Nico (the only member of the Hades cabin at the time) and we talked, eventually settling on a trade. Trading shower hours can be very effective, escpecially when you've got the third shower hour!! (heehee) Now, the Hades and Morpheus cabins were on opposite sides! (I think, for one reason or another, Nico wanted to get back at Percy for something, because he was grinning maniacally when he went back to his cabin after the trade.)

During dinner, the final teams were announced. There had been a lot of trades, so I was eager to see what had been decided. The final teams were:  
Blue Team: Poseidon, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Morpheus, Aeolus, Hecate, Janus, Eris;  
Red Team: Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Demeter, Hermes, Iris, Harmonia, Hades, Nemesis;

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Soleau was going to be on the team that I was on!! I glanced nervously over at the Demeter table, and immediately looked away again. They were looking at me with eyes like poison. All except for one. He looked at me, snapped his fingers, then turned back to his food. A sound like slithering was heard, quietly, and I lifted my foot. Something was moving underneath it. I looked down, and saw that a vine was right there, with a note tied to it with a smaller vine. Trembling, I opened it up, and it read, "James, Enjoy getting whipped during Capture the Flag. This note will sporify in ten seconds. Love, Katie." "'Sporify'?!" I thought, just as the note made a small poof, and exploded softly into a billion little spores. Go figure.

The following sneezing fit caused a lot of heads to turn in my direction. Mort looked over at me, and raised an eyebrow, while asking, "James, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm (kerchoo) fine, it's just (ker-chkkk) a little fit of allergies. I'll be (ker-CHOO) okay," I amended as I sneezed yet again, causing myself to fall backwards out of my seat. Naturally, nearly everyone started laughing. My face turned bright red, as I got back up quickly, and said, "I'm (sniffle) okay." The sniffling was because of those stupid spores, not because I was crying or anything like that!!

Everyone was still laughing, and I looked over at the Demeter table and saw Katie Gardner shoot me a bewildered stare. I glared at her, but she still looked confused. I mouthed, "Meet me at your cabin after this, we need to talk." She got the message, and resumed eating.

After dinner, I met with Katie at the back of her cabin. "So, what happened back at dinner there?"

"Uh, did you not send me a note tied to a vine that exploded into a bunch of tiny spores? Or is there another Katie, Daughter of Demeter?" I asked, somewhat ticked.

"No, why would I? I mean, sure, you wrecked our cabin and all, but I would never do anything like that!" She looked... I don't know. Not quite guilty, but not exactly innocent. Like she was ashamed of what someone else had done.

"Never do anything like what?" A voice sounded from behind me, and I instinctively drew my rod and sword, going on the defensive.

"Who's there?" I asked demandingly. "Who are you?!"

"I sent the note, under Katie's persona. Fear me!!"

"Yeah, because I'm sooo scared of some coward who hides in shadows and steals people's identities," I said, rolling my eyes.

The boy from earlier fell (literally) out of the tree nearby, landed on his head, and I nearly busted up laughing at the mood-breaking moment. Katie, on the other hand, was not amused. "Trey?! YOU sent that note?!" She was steaming as 'Trey' got up from the ground. "Why I oughta..."

"Uh, wait, Katie! I-It's not what you think!" he said while backing up slowly. Finally, he gave up and just ran screaming. Katie ran after him. Another Demeter kid ran after her, in an attempt to save Trey. I ran after... no one, because I was rolling on the ground laughing.

"Well, that was quite possibly the most mood-killing instance in history," I said shakily as soon as I got up from the ground.

"Yup." I turned towards the sound, and saw nothing.

"Who's there...again?"

"It's me, Mort! I'm right here, right in front of you!"

He materialized in front of me, and I leaped nearly ten feet in the air. "What the- How did you do that?!"

He shrugged, saying, "I don't know, I think it's the whole 'child of death' thing."

"Oh, that reminds me, who's your mother?"

He shrugged again. "No one special. Just a really nice lady. You?"

"Eh, yes to the first, Hades no to the second. I am so happy I can be without her."

"You hate her, then?"

"You have no idea. Wait- What's that noise?"

Mort gasped. "Capture the Flag! It's about to start! Come on, we better get going!" We took off towards the forest to the meeting point. We suited up, and got prepped for the fight. The plan was discussed simply, with each cabin doing their part. Mort and I were one of the 'flag-capturing' cabins. Fun!

Chiron stepped up onto the 'announcement rock', and started speaking. "Warriors! ..." He then listed off all the rules, this is allowed, this is not, etc.

Percy led the front lines, with Annabeth on his right, me on his left. We heard the conch signal, and... "CHARGE!!" Percy yelled.

* * *

**Aww... So I didn't get to the actual Capture the Flag part this chapter... I'll get to it next time, though. I swear upon the river Styx!! *determined pose on rock* Please R&R!!! kthxbai**


	5. Things Get Bad

**LoD: Hey, all! LoD here, with the next installment of the story! *crowd off in distance* YAAAAAAY! ...Yeah... So, anyway, before we get to the story, the disclaimer. I managed to get the SUPER-AMAZING RIPTIDE ANAKLUSMOS TO DO THE DISCLAIMER FOR ME! *HOORAY!* TAKE IT AWAY, RIPTIDE!**

**Riptide: Lord of Darkrai does not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and nor do I. And yes, I say "nor", because it is just so much better than "neither". He does, however, own James, Soleau, and this super awesome story. Everything else belongs to Rick Riordan. Including Percy and his awesome pen-sword. Though I still wonder how it shrinks down to its original size when he puts the cap back on. Like, does it slowly get smaller, or is it just pen-sized in the blink of an eye? 'Cause, I mean . . .**

**Oh, just read the story.**

**~~Riptide Anaklusmos~~**

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I hid behind the bushes, waiting for Mort to get there. What on Olympus could be taking him so long? I jumped as he materialized next to me, whispering, "Hey. What's up?"

"You're late!" I hissed back.

He remained unfazed. "Oh. Oops."

I face-palmed. "Anyway," I gestured to the campers guarding the flag. "I'll take the right, you take the left. We guard the flag until Percy gets here, then we watch his back until we are safely over the river. Got it?" He nodded. "Well, then. Let's go!" I jumped up to a high branch of the nearby tree, and I was aware of Mort invisifying. I don't know if it's a word; what else was I supposed to say? Getting to a perfect ambush position required a lot of work, including a high position. From the highest branch on the tree, I was aware of one of the guards singing, "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA to herself. I couldn't help but smile to myself. 'There's a time and a place, sister,' I thought.

From below me, I heard an owl hoot. Yes! Mort remembered the signal! Drawing my katana and acting ever so ninja, I leapt down the branches of the two trees that were behind the guards until I was back on the ground. With little trouble, and within twenty seconds, Mort and I dispatched the newbie campers. I sighed afterwards, saying, "That was easy." No! I must remain vigilant! No 'that was easy' or anything like that! I must be prepared for anything! I looked around for Percy. Where the Hades was that guy? As if Mort being late wasn't enough...

"Run! Run, run, run!" I looked toward the voice, finding out that it was Percy, running towards us with a couple people from the other team on his tail. I grabbed the flag and began running back towards the river. "No! Give it to me!" Percy yelled at me. He turned around, shaking off the other team, and started running after me. I threw it up into the air, leaving it for Percy to catch. Turning around again, I saw Percy catch the flag out of the corner of my eye. Shifting my focus, I was willingly left to keep the other team at bay. Bring it on, Red Team.

Or, that is, I would have been, if the other team's campers hadn't been stopped about 15 yards from where I was standing. All of them, all nine of them, had run headlong into what seemed to be an invisible wall. After a few moments of regaining their bearings, they started to do what looked like a mime routine as they tried to figure out just what they had run into, which was exactly what I started trying to figure out, too. What could have possibly stopped them in their tracks like that?

"Oh, good, it did work! I wasn't sure if it would or not, because I've never done one that big before." I immediately spun around, trying to find who had said that. You'll never believe it *sarcasm*, but there was NO ONE THERE. I know, right? "Hey! Careful with that sword, eh? You're gonna put someone's eye out! Or worse!"

"Well, excuse me for not looking out for the mysterious invisible voice! Tch, as if I didn't have enough of those already..."

"Oh, am I still invisible? Oh, silly me. I forgot to turn off my invisibility spell from earlier." There was a pause, then a girl about the same age as me, perhaps a little younger, appeared in front of me. She had really long black hair, about to her waist, and she wore clothes similar to what you'd expect from someone dressed up as a non-traditional witch on Halloween. She had on the typical hat and wore robes the color of forests. Eyes the color of the sea penetrated me, like she could see straight into my soul like an old Greek book.

"Um... Hi there. What's your name?" I asked, trying to be friendly and forget the unpleasantness that had just happened.

"Atarah Morgan, age 15, Hekate cabin," she responded promptly, extending her hand. "And you?"

"James Wilson, also age 15, the only member of the Morpheus cabin," I replied, accepting the handshake. "So, how's it go-" Our conversation had been cut short, as the other team's members had broken through Atarah's invisible wall and were super-ticked about it.

"Later!" she yelled, as she grabbed my shoulders. "We'll talk later, I promise! Just run for your life!" She spun me around and pushed me in the opposite direction of the oncoming stampede.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I replied as I bolted, praying for my continued existence. I glanced back for a moment to make sure that she wouldn't get killed, and couldn't see her. Invisibility spell, I remembered.

I got back to the river just in time to see Percy jump over the river with the flag in hand JUST as the opposing team's flag carrier did the same, about 4 feet downriver. There was a huge roar of excitement and disapproval as Percy and Clarice, I now saw, started looking around to see just what happened. Everybody else was discussing amongst themselves who was first. The two flag-carriers seemed to find nobody to tell them what went down, but then, as luck would have it, both sets of eyes landed on me. Uh-oh...

"WHO WON?" they both demanded of me, each one grabbing a shoulder. "WHO GOT THERE FIRST?"

Naturally, I said something extremely intelligent along the lines of, "Um, uh, wait, what?" Fortunately, Chiron came to my rescue with the conch signal. _That_ got everybody's attention.

"Enough!" he roared. "For the first time ever, it seems, we have a tie!" Groans from both sides. "Or, I could declare both sides losers, if that would make everybody happier!" he threatened.

Acceptance. I heard such things as, "Yeah," "Okay," "I can live with that," etc. The mob slowly disintegrated, and everybody started going back to their cabins. Eventually, I found Atarah again. She and Mort were talking as though they were incredibly good friends.

"Hey!" I called as I approached them. "What's going on? Do you guys know each other already?"

Mort was about to speak, but, as always happens whenever something really important is about to happen, catastrophe struck. At once, my surroundings dissolved around me, and I found myself in the Fields of Morpheus. I saw the state of things. Burning. Burning. Everything was burning. The poppies were exploding all around me, and I had to struggle to get back to the cave unharmed. Everything was getting destroyed. "No..." I whispered, huddling in the corner, knowing there was nothing that I could do to fix it. "This is all wrong..." I was crying, my eyes shut tight in an attempt to block it out.

I opened my eyes to the sound of a loud crack, to see that I was back in camp. I was still huddled down, and Mort and Atarah were staring at me. Slowly, I got back to my feet, and as I did, the scene flickered back to the Fields. "What the-" I didn't have a chance to finish. The scene kept changing back and forth between the two. What the Hades was going on?

Suddenly, I remembered what Percy had said. "It's like the dream world and the real world are merging." This must be the actual happening. Oh, gods, this is awful. What am I going to do?

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**Sorry it took so long to get here! I'm really sorry... Anyways, this chapter seemed kind of short to me, so I'll try to get the next one up soon. Please R&R!**


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